Chapter 7
Wyatt
The next morning, we emerge from the rugged peaks with our packs laden and spirits soaring. That climb on the Fang was one of the gnarliest I”ve ever tackled—and Daisy more than held her own every heart-stopping pitch of the way.
I can”t deny the swell of pride that rises in my chest as we trudge into Grizzly Meadows Basecamp. For so long, I”ve seen myself as a lone wolf, pursuing my passions in solitude while avoiding any whiff of the spotlight.
But having Daisy there with me, both on the mountain and later that night... it was like the world made sense in a whole new way.
”Hey, nice work out there, Croft!”
The gruff call pulls me from my thoughts. I glance over to find Mitch Hollis offering me a thumbs up, the old alpinist”s beard twitching in a rare smile. A few other climbers who”d been milling about join in, offering nods and words of congratulations.
My brow furrows in confusion as I scan the small crowd, wondering what”s gotten into them. It”s not like me to seek out that kind of attention, especially not after a climb.
Daisy doesn”t seem perturbed, though. She just flashes me a wink before shouldering her pack.
”Be right back,” she murmurs, jerking her chin toward the restrooms across the way. ”Nature calls.”
I watch her go for a beat, admiring the sway of those hips and the tousled tumble of dark curls spilling over her shoulders. Christ, I could get used to views like that.
A low whistle beside me draws my attention. I glance over to find my best friend, Stylz Steele, eyeing me with one arched brow, a shit-eating grin plastered across his tanned features.
”Damn, brother,” he drawls, clapping me on the shoulder. ”Didn”t realize you were finally embracing the whole social media game.”
Immediately, my hackles rise at the implication. ”The fuck are you talking about?”
Rather than answering, Stylz pulls out his phone and taps the screen a few times before angling it in my direction. I frown as I lean in, studying the shaky first-person footage that fills the display.
The camera bobs and weaves, offering an intimate view of the granite face looming before the lens. I instantly recognize the exposed headwall pitch on the Fang that I had just led the previous day. The view jerks upward, and a figure appears in the frame. It”s me, captured mid-pitch in all my sweat-soaked glory.
”Pretty fuckin” badass footage.” The sound of Stylz”s voice finally cuts through the haze of confusion clouding my thoughts. “I might need your girl to tag along with me sometime.”
I tear my stare away from the screen, jaw clenched so tightly it throbs, looking up just in time to see Daisy approaching us again.
Her smile falters as she picks up on my thunderous expression. ”What”s going on?”
I shove Stylz”s phone into her hands so she can see the footage for herself. ”Care to explain this?”
Her eyes widen momentarily before understanding settles in. ”Oh, that? Yeah, I posted some clips to build hype for the scholarship fund.”
Anger surges through me. ”After everything we talked about? After everything I told you?”
Daisy shakes her head vehemently. ”No, Wyatt, it”s not like that at all. I thought—”
”Save it.” I cut her off with a curt wave of my hand. ”I can”t believe I actually thought you gave a damn about me.”
”Wyatt, please...” Her voice drips with panic, but I”m too far gone to let it sway me now.
”You know what? Forget it.” I turn on my heel and storm away, every muscle coiled with tension. ”Have fun chasing those clicks or whatever the hell it is you do.”
Her plaintive call follows me, but I don”t slow my pace. I need to get the hell out of here before I say something I”ll really regret.
The short hike back to my truck passes in a blur of seething rage. By the time I reach the trailhead, my hands are shaking with the force of my emotion. I hurl my pack onto the truck bed with more force than necessary, chest heaving.
I don”t know what hurts more—the fact that she clearly never gave a shit about me, or the realization that I actually let myself fall for her act.
With a disgusted huff, I crank the engine to life and peel out of the parking area, eager to put distance between me and her camera.
****
I stomp into the Blackwood Mountain Rescue Station, jaw still clenched tight. My blood boils as I replay those damned videos Stylz showed me, Daisy”s betrayal hitting me like an avalanche.
How could she be so goddamn careless with what matters most? After everything I”d opened up about, she still went and plastered my private passion all over the internet.
A commotion from the main room pulls me up short. I pause in the hallway, brows furrowing as young voices filter through—high-pitched and filled with excitement.
Curiosity getting the better of me, I round the corner to find none other than Garrett Blackwood himself holding court over a gaggle of starstruck kids. The big man has that trademark easy grin plastered across his tanned features as he regales them with some wild tale, no doubt involving a harrowing rescue mission.
Despite my foul mood, I can”t help the slight quirk of my lips. Leave it to Garrett to have this whole new generation eating out of the palm of his hand. The guy”s a natural at connecting with people—the complete opposite of my lone-wolf tendencies.
As if sensing my presence, Garrett glances over and catches my eye. His brows lift in greeting as the kids all turn to follow his stare, their expressions morphing into looks of awestruck wonder.
”Wyatt! Perfect timing, my man.” Garrett claps his meaty hands together, that megawatt grin never wavering. ”I was just telling these Silverpine Outdoor Adventure campers about some of our craziest call-outs from last season.”
”You”re Wyatt Croft!”
The high-pitched voice cuts through the chatter like a bolt of lightning. I blink, caught off guard as a young boy—no older than ten or eleven—extricates himself from the gaggle and approaches me with a look of unbridled reverence. His sandy hair sticks up at wild angles, eyes shining with excitement behind a pair of wire-rimmed glasses.
”I can”t believe it”s really you!” The words tumble out in a breathless rush as he skids to a stop before me.
The kid trails off, rocking back on his heels as Garrett lets out a deep, rumbling chuckle beside me, clearly amused by the starstruck display.
”Easy there, Coop,” he interjects with a warm smile. ”Why don”t you introduce yourself first?”
The boy”s cheeks flush crimson, but he quickly recovers, squaring those narrow shoulders. ”Right, uh—I”m Cooper. But people call me Coop.” He offers me a toothy grin, the tips of his ears burning red. ”I”m at Camp Silverpine this summer on a scholarship.”
The words hit me like a sledgehammer to the gut, momentarily stealing my breath. I shoot Garrett a sidelong glance, but the man simply shrugs, that knowing smirk still playing at the corners of his mouth.
Coop seems oblivious to my sudden inner turmoil. ”I can”t wait to learn all about climbing and wilderness survival from the real deal!” The excitement in his voice is palpable. ”I”ve been watching Daisy”s videos for years. She”s the one who paid for me to be here.”
He gestures vaguely at my dirt-caked boots and worn flannel with a look of sheer admiration. ”She always talks about you being one of the best climbers out there. Says you”ve done routes that would make most grown men piss their pants.”
Despite my roiling emotions, I can”t help the slight quirk of my lips at his blunt assessment. The kid”s got a refreshingly straightforward way about him.
Garrett lets out another hearty guffaw. ”Well, she”s definitely got a point there,” he rumbles, clapping me hard on the shoulder.
Coop nods emphatically. ” And now you’re going to help her raise money for more scholarships, right?” His eager gaze finds mine, bright with youthful enthusiasm. ”That way, more kids like me can get a chance at Camp Silverpine, too!”
The words hit me square in the chest, momentarily stealing my breath. I open my mouth to respond but find myself at a complete loss, my mind spinning.
Christ, what a fucking idiot I”ve been.
”Hey, man. You still with us?”
Garrett”s deep baritone cuts through the fog clouding my thoughts. I glance over to find him studying me.
Clearing my throat, I force a tight smile. ”Yeah, I”m good.” I turn my attention to Coop. ”Just... thinking about how lucky you kids are to get a chance like this.”
The words sound hollow, even to my own ears. But the kid simply grins up at me, utterly awestruck.
”Aw man, it”s been a dream come true so far! I still can”t believe it.” His expression turns serious then, that youthful bravado slipping for a beat. ”You have no idea how much it means to me.”
I study the earnest young face before me—those wide, expressive eyes and the slight overbite that gives him a perpetual eager look. For a moment, I find myself transported back decades, to those long-ago days when I was just another lost kid from the system, yearning for any sense of purpose or belonging.
Camp Silverpine had been my lifeline back then, the first place that ever felt like home. It had given me an outlet, a direction... and a family of sorts in the other kids—Zane and Garrett, Tucker and Stylz, Declan and Jaxon. Without it, without them, there”s no telling where my aimless path would have led.
Now, Daisy wants to provide that same gift to kids like Cooper—the opportunity to find their way through the healing power of nature. To discover that elusive sense of purpose and belonging that had been such a driving force in my own life.
A profound sense of shame washes over me as my parting words echo through my mind.
”You know what? Forget it. Have fun chasing those clicks, or whatever the hell it is you do.”
Jesus. I”m such an asshole.
Yeah, she messed up. She posted that video without my permission. But I didn”t have to fly off the handle like that. She and I had talked about working together on this, and she just jumped the gun before we came to any real agreement.
But for all her sassiness and bravado, there isn”t a manipulative bone in her beautiful body.
She”s genuine, real. She”s doing what she can to help. And I”m just standing in her way.
”Everything okay?”
I glance over to find Garrett studying me, one eyebrow arched high. The cluster of starstruck kids has thinned out, no doubt scattering off to the next activity.
Except for Cooper. The sandy-haired kid lingers nearby, watching our exchange with rapt interest.
I let out a humorless chuckle, shaking my head. ”Not really, man. I, uh... I might”ve really screwed things up with Daisy.”
”The vlogger with the scholarship?” He folds his arms across his broad chest, giving me a measured look. ”You wanna elaborate on that? ”Cause from where I”m standing, she seems like she”s got a damn good thing going.”
”I know, I know.” I scrub a hand over my face, feeling that familiar self-disgust churning in my gut. ”I thought it was just going to turn into a cheap sideshow for her to cash in on. But, I don”t know, I think... I think I was wrong.”
He claps me on the shoulder. ”Way I see it, as long as you can admit that, you”ve still got a chance to make things right, brother.”
I nod, jaw clenched as I wrestle with the tangled knot of emotions swirling within me. Shame, regret, and something that feels unsettlingly like the first flutters of hope.
”You”re right.” My voice emerges rough, grated. ”I need to find her.”
Pushing off from the wall, I turn to head for the exit, a renewed sense of purpose burning in my chest. I”ve got a wrong to make right—and this time, I”m not going to let my own stubbornness blind me to what truly matters.
Not when there are lives to impact, purpose to be found.
Daisy”s out there somewhere, no doubt hurting from the way I acted. But I”m going to track her down and make this right, no matter what it takes.
After everything we shared in the mountains, everything she opened my eyes to... she deserves far better than how I treated her.
I don”t know what the future holds or if she”ll even be willing to hear me out after my bullheaded display. But one thing”s for damn sure—I”m not giving up without a fight.